You're looking at a 1952 Mercedes-Benz W-194....one of only two that reside outside of the Mercedes corporate museum.

This car was completed in 1952 exclusively to race at the famous Le Mans venue. It won the race, becoming the very first German car to do so. For the following Nurburgring race, it was reconfigured by Mercedes into a roadster ( convertible ) and it, again, won the race. After serving as a PR car for the Carrera Panamerica race in Mexico, this car was then returned to Stuttgart, converted to a 300 SL " Gullwing " and given to a director of Mercedes for use as a personal car.

The current owner sent this car to the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center and had it restored back to its original W-194 configuration, as seen in this photo. You are seeing the car as it was when it won at Le Mans.

Niiice.....

Sweet!

Those leather straps on the hood just kill me

Another fun history lesson..... with pictures too!

Originally Posted by torags Niiice.....

Absolutely !!

Tom

Originally Posted by rwells Sweet! Those leather straps on the hood just kill me

I imagine the last thing the driver ever wanted to see was his hood fly up....especially at 150 MPH +. It took a lot of guts to get in and race cars of this era, regardless of who made them. Real safety features were practically non-existent.

Tom

Originally Posted by Earache Another fun history lesson..... with pictures too!

I tell you, Eric, you've got to get to one of these real high-end shows, like this one. You'll be blown away.

See ya,

Tom

No fenders ? It looks aerodynamically designed well,but hard to fix if it were in a wreck. Nice presentation, I always enjoy the history you provide of these rare cars. Thanks Tom !

Originally Posted by lensmole No fenders ? It looks aerodynamically designed well,but hard to fix if it were in a wreck. Nice presentation, I always enjoy the history you provide of these rare cars. Thanks Tom !

Thanks for the visit.

For those folks who have more than a casual interest in cars, I figure it's worth it to post some of the history of the car, if I happen to know it myself. This seems to be especially meaningful if I'm talking about race cars, as their documented racing provenance can have such a dramatic impact on their value on the collector market. The more I can tell you....concisely, I hope....may increase your enjoyment of the pictures.

Tom

Wow! Want!

Originally Posted by eL eSs Vee Wow! Want!

Me too !!

Take care,

Tom

Thank you for this.

Lovely lovely car... I remember Stuttgart releasing one (I'm pretty sure it was one of these) from the museum for an ex pro driver of vintage (have to remember who it was now... but he did a lot of racing for Mercedes in the past)

Drove it at the Arosa hill climb (here in Switzerland) and managed to understeer off the road and push the front quarter in - hate to think what the repair bill was

edit: woops it was actually the Mercedes 300 SLR... but another year there was a Merc like the one in your photos that did stave in front quarter... hmmm going to have to go back through my photos now :)

here's a 300 SL going up that hill - cockpit view - figured you might like it if you like these cars
http://youtu.be/kE1bA4gAFsw

Originally Posted by Rolf Thank you for this.

You bet. Thanks for the visit.

Tom

Originally Posted by jasonstone Lovely lovely car... I remember Stuttgart releasing one (I'm pretty sure it was one of these) from the museum for an ex pro driver of vintage (have to remember who it was now... but he did a lot of racing for Mercedes in the past) Drove it at the Arosa hill climb (here in Switzerland) and managed to understeer off the road and push the front quarter in - hate to think what the repair bill was edit: woops it was actually the Mercedes 300 SLR... but another year there was a Merc like the one in your photos that did stave in front quarter... hmmm going to have to go back through my photos now :) here's a 300 SL going up that hill - cockpit view - figured you might like it if you like these cars http://youtu.be/kE1bA4gAFsw

Thanks, Jase, for including the link to the video. It's a great one. I really enjoyed seeing it.

Tom

Very nice, Tom, very nice! I love your photos, and I always appreciate the little history lesson that goes along with them.

Originally Posted by moose135 Very nice, Tom, very nice! I love your photos, and I always appreciate the little history lesson that goes along with them.

Thanks for looking in, John. I really appreciate the kind words.

Tom